Tabletop World "Stone Bridge"

 

        I have had a hard on for the stone bridge since I saw it. Way back in 2013. At the time I was buying small houses from them for M&T. The bridge was too much. I didn't play any game that would support it as terrain. 

        A long comes Anno Domini and musketeers. What a terrain piece to be fighting over, across! I got Xmas money from my Aunt. Cash is alway nice, but in most cases you don't end up spending it on just you. It goes some where else. There is always a need for for something. This time I pissed it away properly!

        I got it without the river base. The river base would force me creating a whole board or section for it. This will be a large enough effort just to clean and paint it.

        It took about a month to show up. They send the base anyways.

THE MOUNTAIN

Bought = 54

Sold = 52, 5 detachments

Painted = 264

28mm = 0

20mm = 0

15mm = 96

10mm = 0

Epic = 30

Terrain bought = 6

Terrain painted = 138

Printed Terrain = 0

Minis Printed = 0

Games = 1

Games hosted = 0

Books 

Bought = 2

Read = 1

2023

Bought = 321, 6 collections, 6 armies, 4 buildings

Sold = 142, 166 Detachments, 6 Armies, 1 Collection

Painted = 950

Terrain Boards, Cons and the Future part XXVI

 

    
Tile "C"

          C is done. The missing grass is in. I do need to sort the ballast around the tracks.   

Money shot

            All the structures are in and done.

    

            Where the terrain breaks. It looks a little weird. I have walls to help the division. But they will remain a scatter terrain option. I believe they presents would effect game play too much.

            Same goes for the other scatter terrain objects.

Tile "E"

            Its still cold as hell and we have snow. I am huffing flumes. Spraying indoors. I try to spray late at night. The area I work in can be secured from the rest of the living space. And from the dog. I just need to hold my breath!

        The flat Iron ore ballast around the tracks was solved. I used wood filler to build up the area. Then re-flocked the ballast.

Tile "B"

            Tile B is done.

        The tunnel entrance looks pretty good for a last minute solution made from a bunch of crap.

THE MOUNTAIN

Bought = 54

Sold = 52, 5 detachments

Painted = 264

28mm = 0

20mm = 0

15mm = 96

10mm = 0

Epic = 30

Terrain bought = 0

Terrain painted = 138

Printed Terrain = 0

Minis Printed = 0

Games = 1

Games hosted = 0

Books 

Bought = 2

Read = 1

2023

Bought = 321, 6 collections, 6 armies, 4 buildings

Sold = 142, 166 Detachments, 6 Armies, 1 Collection

Painted = 950

Vraks Traitors "Road Map"

 

            A punter said I was disappointing as an army champ for no road map. Its true! I do not have a industry type road map. Nor have I ever put any ideas down. More than anything I wanted to make 1.06 playable and tourney field able. I was not looking for a rewrite. Nor to remove the Malcadors.

            The first thing I tried was the Manticore 9 strong company core choice. The 1.06 comments were correct. The 18BP with disrupt was way too much in combination with garrisoned Malcadors.

            Next I would like to try the restriction of Chimeras and addition of a force core choice of "Worker Rabble." The "Worker Rabble" core choice does not generate the +2 support options.

            There are the recommendations from 1.06 that were never tested. The punter had no specific recommendations. I welcome anyone with the interest testing the option below.

*Removal of Warlord titans entirely and maybe even all titans to refocus on the low tech guard aspect.  

*Drop Harbringers and Deathstrikes to further the disadvantage Vraks.

*Remove Malcador and Minatour formation ability to perform march orders (this is slow and ponderous) which helps balance the list somewhat

*Manticores and Bombard probably fine at squadron level.

            This one, I agree with and have already implemented the change. The game I played with the Manticore company had OTT advantage in area denial and forced opponent deployment.

*Remove the Armored Fist Platoon. Chimeras should still be made available to the HQ and Disciples formations to reflect them being the best equipped formations.

            I played a game with 3 Fists running around. The Disciples are a greater threat, area denial choice. This maybe a personal play style thing. If the list went the way of worker rabble, no armored fists platoon would fit.

*Add a 'Workers Rabble' core choice 0-1. A mass unit of cheap canon fodder, No save/ no FF/CC 6+, no ranged weapons.

*The enforcers are  commissars by another name. Removal of inspiring for leader.

            The Vraks suck for every engagement. This is most likely will make them completely ineffective.

*Vraksian Fortifications: - One Fortified Position may be taken per Vraksian Regimental HQ Platoon and Infantry Platoon. Fortified Positions (Up to 50cm of trenches and 50cm of razor wire, plus up to 6 gun emplacements or 6 bunkers in any combination.) Add trenches, bunkers, razorwire and minefields. Vraks are a defensive siege army known to use these very extensively and the lack of these in the current list is a bizarre mistake.

*Leman Russ tanks available as upgrades only, to reflect the prominent role of the Malcador. Leman Russes only as a support formation. 

* Possibly make the Alpha Legion 0-1? Possibly 6 strong rather than 8 too. 

*Unreliable, any core choice without an enforcer receives a -1 to the initiative.

Terrain Boards, Cons and the Future part XXV

 

Tile "D"

            "D" is finished. Final shot with structures. The acid building doesn't belong there. It lives at A6.

Tile "A"

            "A" is finished. I have been struggling with the weather and weathering. Its too cold to spray. Everything takes forever to dry. D, A, B, C all got two coats of poly sealer. But before that went down the pigment fixer was not fixing shit. I ended up Spraying in doors again. None of the tiles fit in the spray booth and the fan don't suck hard enough to pull the flumes. All equal more dead brain cells.

Tile "E"

            Tile E was the same story. I ended up spraying indoors. 

            Standard Red Ore for track ballast. I used fine and it came out way too flat. I want depth and character.

            The grass mat is down. I need to sort my track ballast.

Tile "B"

            The weathering has been fix. As good as it will get with the pigment fixer. I laid the sealer down too heavy. I should have went with lighter and multiple coats. I was getting pissed with the pigment fixer. I let getting done be the driving force over correctly doing things.

THE MOUNTAIN

Bought = 54

Sold = 52, 5 detachments

Painted = 203

28mm = 0

20mm = 0

15mm = 96

10mm = 0

Epic = 30

Terrain bought = 0

Terrain painted = 77

Printed Terrain = 0

Minis Printed = 0

Games = 1

Games hosted = 0

Books 

Bought = 0

Read = 1

2023

Bought = 321, 6 collections, 6 armies, 4 buildings

Sold = 142, 166 Detachments, 6 Armies, 1 Collection

Painted = 950

Terrain Boards, Cons and the Future part XXIV

 

Tile "D"  & "E"

            My war gaming table is no longer level. At some point the end closest to the front of the house settled. That made the middle higher than the ends. I though it was the gaming mat beneath. 

        The table is designed to split in half. We never split it. Its too heavy to move. The other half never settled. I think the carpet or carpet padding on the end that settled is weaker.

        Now why all this matters? I built the FW table on the war gaming table. It was the only way I could lay the whole thing out at once. I did not want my roads not lining up perfectly again. In doing so, I introduced the war gaming table's level issue into the FW build.

            The hill section, "E," I did first was heavy enough to then effect the actual height of tile "D."

            To make everyone nice and flat I built up "D" across the top by 3mm. I noticed it when I moved the sections to my paint table. Which is 100% level. 

            So now what. Do I rip up everything on "D?" Then remove the 3mm build up. Or shave the riser? I am going to shave the riser. It would be easier but it will be quicker.

        

Tile "A"

            I ended up sealing the roads with polyurethane. Wood stain. Not to actual stain or tint the roads in any way. I did it to make them tougher, harder to chip. Once I am finished. I don't want the first tourney out to force me into reworking the roads because they got chipped in game play. 

            After the poly dried. Tiles A, B, and C were put together with building and the weathering was completed.

                                 

Tile "C"

            "C" got the the same road stain treatment. They all will. 

            The Plasma building dropped it, repaired it, repainted.

    Tile "B"

                The wall was painted and tunnel detail picked out. The sidewalks painted. The area above the wall has been flocked. The area in front of the wall gets a static mat glued down. Tac glue is used. You put it down white and wait for it to go clear. Then it is wicked sticky.

            Static grass is easy. The grass applicator can be expensive. When you do static grass it goes everywhere. I use a vacuum to clean up. You can put a panty hose over the end of the vacuum hose like a rubber. The panty hose collects all your grass. Otherwise plan on using 3 times what you think you will need.

Tile "D" 

            The last two sabots for "D" are done. The roads and sidewalks are painted.

            "D" is at the final step, Sealing. All the structures are done. There is no damage to this section, no weathering. It is a day away from finished! 

Tile "E"

            Roads are being laid to match up with "B" and "E."

            The roads are all down. Sand is filling in the gaps for the destroyed road areas.

            Wall filler is covering the gaps in the road pieces. Being FW they were never made square. When I copied them ages ago, I never thought of squaring them. Which creates huge issue when trying to lay a straight road and there are gaps between sections.

            The exact same way you finish repairing damaged wallboard in the house is applied here. Most because it is quick and I can do it when it is cold outside. No venting needed.

            When it is dry. I go back and pick the stuff out of the gutters.